The World We Ignored

Objectification of Women in Italy. Except: “Conservative ideas in Italy die hard because of patriarchal culture and the Catholic Church, whose interference become even stronger since Mr. Berlusconi first became prime minister in 1994. The church, for example, has threatened to excommunicate doctors who prescribe the abortion pill as well as patients who use it. Italy ranks 67th out of 130 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index. Under half of Italy’s women have jobs, compared with the world average of nearly two out of three. Italian men have 80 more minutes of leisure time per day, the greatest difference in the 18 countries compared. Women had to devote extra time to unpaid work, like cleaning the house and are therefore unwilling to take on an additional burden of raising children. Italy has an extraordinarily low birthrate”.

Things We Need To Know: Why Elections and Bipartisanship are overrated, and other controversial answers, answered by Newsweek.

Belgian Justice. Except: “Most buildings are from the 19th century and not very functional in terms of security. There are 44 entrances to the huge Palace of Justice, many of them with little or no significant surveillance, almost no few metal detectors here. The minister of justice, Stefaan De Clerck, is now in the hot seat. Most of the escapees have been foreigners, given that roughly 57 percent of Belgium’s prison population is foreign-born. Almost all the recent escapees were serving time or facing trial for violent crimes.”